There is a t-shirt that says "Born in Maine, Living in Exile." I lived in "exile" (actually a very nice place) for 32 years, and returned to Maine in 2005. That's not necessarily what all this is about, just the only title I could think of at the time.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving Thoughts, tending toward randomness

Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. readers, and I hope the rest of you have a good day too!

I've just put the Sweet Potato-Peach-Cashew Bake into the oven and cut the Exquisite Chocolate Mint Sticks into bars(see above). The cranberry sauce appears to have jelled nicely and reposes in the refrigerator. In about half an hour I'll wake up Onkel Hankie Pants, who worked last night, and we'll get ready to go to Bowdoinham, where we will share Thanksgiving dinner with Uncle Nepco, Mama's Baby Sister, and their daughter, Monkees Fan. I used occasionally to babysit for Monkees Fan when I was in town, and Mama's Baby Sister used to babysit for me. Although MBS is a grandmother, and Monkees Fan still has children at home (they're with their dad today), we are more or less functioning as contemporaries now. It's funny, and good, how that goes.

I took Rusty for a walk down Maine Street just now. It was odd, and nice, to see everything so quiet (and also to know that that's not a permanent condition!) If I had gone a little farther, I suppose the 7-11 would have been open, and perhaps Dunkin' Donuts? The German restaurant where we had Easter dinner was advertising that they would prepare your meal, I know, but I can't recall if they also were going to be open -- I think not. The coffeehouse down near the supermarket is hosting a Thanksgiving meal by donation, to make sure people don't have to eat alone, and to benefit young adult programs at the library. And there will be a potluck Thanksgiving at church. I saw only three people not in cars -- one of the smokers at the assisted living place down the street exchanged Thanksgiving greetings with me, and one of her co-residents was being escorted to a car for a trip to dinner, probably by a sister.

I wonder, if I end up in a place like that, will there be as many smokers clustering outside? I heard on the radio that smoking among adults is down under 20% of the population; unfortunately among teenagers it's a little higher than that.

My Exquisite Chocolate Mint Sticks turned out a little oddly. They taste fine (I am sampling one right now, "to see if it's fit to eat" as my mother used to say). But some are thicker than others. Put it down to astigmatism, I guess. We cleaned the (self-cleaning) oven yesterday, and when I put the racks back in, I got them tilted. Somehow I didn't notice that when I put the pan in. Fortunately it doesn't show as much once they are cut up and arranged on a nice plate I got from Brother #1 and The Herbalist last Christmas. By the way, although these are a family favorite, from Marjorie Standish's Cooking Down East, they are not a traditional Thanksgiving treat. Monkees Fan specially requested them after tasting one of the leftovers from the last time I made them. We will have pies as well. (I am expecting there will be more than one pie, although only 5 at dinner. It's traditional. When I was growing up, in a family of seven, my mother always made at least a dozen pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Well, Onkel Hankie Pants is up, humming "Over the River and Through the Woods" in the shower. We will cross at least two rivers, the Androscoggin and the Cathance, on our way to dinner. The Cathance had flooded fields on the Bisson farm yesterday when we went to pick up the fresh turkey; they're used to it, they say. The Androscoggin was roaring loudly as water rushed over the dam near our house on its way to the sea. We are fortunate today to have electric power, drivable roads, and no flooding; others in Maine are not so lucky. We also must stop to remember all those affected by the terrorist action in Mumbai, all those who do not share the bounty we enjoy, and all those far from home today, especially our servicemen and women overseas.